Rotary Club of Tuguegarao-Citadel joins DAR Breast Cancer Awareness Forum

The Rotary Club of Tuguegarao-Citadel (RCT-CITADEL), in partnership with the Department of Agrarian Reform Ladies Association (DARLA), Department of Agrarian Reform Employees Association (DAREA) and GIVE2 LIFE Incorporated, held a Breast Cancer Awareness Forum and Free Breast Cancer Screening at the Department of Agrarian Reform, Regional Office No. 2, Tuguegarao City which was attended by more a hundred participants.

Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells in the body grow out of control. Cancers are named after the part of the body where the abnormal cell growth begins. Breast cancers are cancer cells from the breast. When breast cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, they are called metastases (when cancer spreads to another location in the body. For example, if breast cancer cells spread to the bone, this is called a "breast cancer metastasis"). Men can also get breast cancer. In men, breast cancer can happen at any age, but is most common in men who are between 60 and 70 years old. Male breast cancer is not very common. For every 100 cases of breast cancer, less than 1 is in men. Breast cancer is treated in several ways. It depends on the kind of breast cancer and how far it has spread. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biologic therapy, and radiation. People with breast cancer often get more than one kind of treatment: (1) Surgery. An operation where doctors cut out and remove cancer tissue; (2) Chemotherapy. Using special medicines, or drugs to shrink or kill the cancer. The drugs can be pills you take or medicines given through an intravenous (IV) tube, or, sometimes, both; (3) Hormonal therapy. Some cancers need certain hormones to grow. Hormonal treatment is used to block cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow; (4) Biological therapy. This treatment works with your body's immune system to help it fight cancer or to control side effects from other cancer treatments. Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments. Biological therapy is different from chemotherapy, which attacks cancer cells directly; and (5) Radiation. The use of high-energy rays (similar to X-rays) to kill the cancer cells. The rays are aimed at the part of the body where the cancer is located. It is common for doctors from different specialties to work together in treating breast cancer. Surgeons are doctors that perform operations. Medical oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with medicines. Radiation oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with radiation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

The facts about breast cancer are: (1) All women are at risk. Approximately 70% of breast cancers occur in women with none of the known risk factors; (2) Only about 5% of breast cancers are inherited. About 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer will be the first to be victims in their families; (3) Breast cancer is the leading killer of women ages 35 to 54 worldwide. More than a million women develop breast cancer without knowing it and almost 500,000 die from it every year; (4) One out of four who are diagnosed with breast cancer die within the first five years. No less than 40% die within ten years; (5) The incidence of breast cancer has been rising for the past 30 years. And the supposed authorities and experts that should know, don't know why; (6) Risk factors are not necessarily causes of breast cancer. Enough evidence exist linking environmental pollution and contamination to cause breast cancer; (7) Mammography fails to detect as much as 20% of all breast cancer and as much as 40% in women under the age of 50; (8) Early detection does not prevent breast cancer. Avoiding and eliminating known causes will prevent breast cancer; (9) One out of eight North American women will develop breast cancer. The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest incidence rate in the entire world; (10) The Philippines has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in Asia and is today considered to have the 9th highest incidence rate in the world today (Philippine Breast Cancer Network).

The forum ended with encouraging testimonies from breast cancer survivors followed by a free breast cancer screening for persons who are at risk of developing breast cancers which were administered by the doctors from the Give2 Life Incorporated, a non-government organization composed of doctors and medical professionals based in Metro Manila. /cds